BIOGRAPHY
I grew up in the New York City art scene, since both of my parents are artists. My father is a painter who pioneered geometric, three-dimensional shaped wall canvases. My mother is an artist who has worked in all kinds of media, from sculpture to paintings, drawings and computer art. We knew other artists such as James Rosenquist, Will Insley, Bob Indiana and Harvey Quaytman who were all painters.
I was nonverbal until the age of three, and I was not able to speak in complete sentences until I was five-years old. My parents did not know or understand what I was seeing at the time. I did not learn of my Autism Spectrum Disorder until I was 39-years old. The books I read as a child have had a tremendous influence upon me.
As a three-year old child, I remember hanging out in my dad’s studio, watching him work, and other artists would pop-in from time to time. I also hung out with my mother who was a member of the 55 Mercer Street Gallery, when she would install her work. When my parents and their friends and colleagues had shows all around NYC, they would take me with them to their openings and shows. I accompanied my parents to the Museum of Modern Art and the Whitney Museum. From my experience, I have seen all kinds of art from painting to sculpture created by different kinds of artists. My earliest memories are of art.
One of my cherished childhood experiences was of the dioramas with the various taxidermied animals in their simulated environments at the Museum of Natural History. I was fascinated by the artifacts from the archaic and neolithic times. Seeing all of the animals and reptiles at the Bronx Zoo was an inspiration for my childhood art work in drawing and clay. I now realize how deeply those experiences influenced my artistic choices in sculpture.
At age eight, I remember going to artist David Diao’s loft, a floor above ours, and in the middle of his space, he had a forest of trees and plants growing in an island-type setting, which reminded me of The Plant Sitter book. At the time, one of the lofts, in our building, was being emptied of its contents, and there were all of these plastic plants and flowers and a huge poster of a stream in the woods in the fall, which I acquired. There was a floor under my bunk bed, and I arranged it like a forest scene installation with all the plastic plants I acquired, with the poster as the backdrop. I saw it as creating a habitat, without knowing it was an installation. That was my first installation piece.
Artists such as Harvey Quaytman and Alice Adams inspired me in different ways. Harvey Quaytman’s artwork, Kingston inspired me. It was monochromatic, and the texture produced by the brushstrokes appealed to me. Harvey had a very laid back personality, which made it easy for me to approach him. Alice Adams’s installation work and sculptures inspired me as a young person. Harvey and Alice’s artworks influenced me as an artist at a very young, impressionable age.
When I was in high school, my photography teacher, Ken Wittenberg, would push me to produce the best prints possible, and I did not have to go beyond my block on St Marks Place between 1st and 2nd Avenues in New York City to find subject matter to photograph.
The janitor years:
Suppression
Did not see myself as an artist
I decided to become an artist in 1992, at the age of 29, when I was building stage sets for the New Life Church theater productions, in Concord, Massachusetts. There were those within the theater productions who expressed how creative I was. I spent twelve humbling years working at a company in Waltham, Massachusetts, as a janitor. I had a supervisor who was so degrading that it propelled me to attend MassArt as a Continuing Education student at night, in order to build a portfolio to apply as a full-time art student.
During my undergraduate years at MassArt, my professors, Rick Brown, George Greenamyer, Taylor Davis, JD Smith, Janet Monafo and Reid Drum all mentored and challenged me. With their encouragement and support, I was able to produce my best work. They demonstrated by example and by advising me on my path to being a professional artist.
My current work is inspired by nature, biblical themes, other worlds in the universe and world history. My spiritual beliefs guide me to ancient beings and themes. I have done some artwork bringing apparitions and nightmares to life as I experienced as a young person. Some of the artwork I produce now is a result of many years envisioning the inspirations I had as a child.
I am mostly a three-dimensional artist. However, I have been creating lots of drawings and paintings of images in deep space such as black holes, other worldly lands and seascapes. The drawings are exercises in perspective and three-dimensional realism. If I can paint and draw well, my inspired visions definitely will become reality, when I sculpt them.
BEING AN ARTIST ON THE AUTISM SPECTRUM
There is an aspect of my art and the creation of it that gives me the freedom to express myself in a positive, constructive way. Being on the autism spectrum, I have difficulty expressing myself verbally, and creating art is the language I choose to use to communicate with others and to express myself. Making my art does not require me to conform to anyone else’s standards. When I am creating, I am working within the boundaries of my own abilities in my own world. I can be myself.
EARLY CHILDHOOD INSPIRATION FOR BAOBAB SERIES
This body of work of having a garden and bringing it inside, as opposed to having it outside, relates to my childhood. Everyone sees a garden outside, but not everybody gets to see that inside. When I was six- to nine-years old, I was walking down 34th Street between 5th and 7th Avenues in New York City with my mother, and I looked through the window of a huge atrium of a building. I saw what looked like a grove of trees growing alongside the escalators in a garden setting, which was really fascinating. It reminded me of a children’s book I had, The Plant Sitter, about a boy who decided to be a plant sitter; all the people in the neighborhood brought their plants to the little boy to care for them. The inside of his home looked like a forest. When the family was having breakfast in the kitchen, the kitchen was filled with plants large and small, and the boy thought it was like having a picnic in the woods. Before bedtime, the boy took a bath, and it was like swimming in a little lake in the middle of the forest. The little boy fell asleep in his bathtub, enjoying the experience so much. That night, the boy dreamt that the plants grew so big and thick that they crowded out the house and the walls of the house fell down, all of the plants held the form of the house.
I remember going to artist David Diao’s loft, a floor above ours, and in the middle of his space, he had a forest of trees and plants growing in an island-type setting, which reminded me of the book. At the time, one of the lofts, in our building, was being emptied of its contents, and there were all of these plastic plants and flowers and a huge poster of a stream in the autumn woods, which I acquired. There was a floor under my bunk bed, and I arranged it like a forest scene installation with all the plastic plants I acquired, with the poster as the backdrop. James Rosenquist was stopping by, since his loft was on the third floor, and I brought him into my room to see what I had done, and when he looked at it, his mouth was hanging wide open, in amazement. That was my first installation piece. By the time I’m 60-years old, I will have actualized the vision of my thesis from my childhood.
BAOBAB SERIES ARTIST STATEMENT
I am driven in my studio practice to try to merge living organisms with my artwork. For the past 10 years, I have created sculptures that combine wood, steel and plants. For instance, several of my wall sculptures incorporate herbs and succulents. In this way, these pieces could become living ecosystems in themselves. Recently, in 2019, I exhibited my first free-standing Baobab sculpture, The Tree of Life for an exhibit at the “Art in the Orchard” show in Easthampton, Massachusetts that featured a bird bath, bird feeders and a bird house as a way to invite woodland creatures to take up residence and sanctuary in my work.
My Tree of Life series is based on the Baobab tree. As a 10-year old in 1973, I received a book about trees, which had a Baobab tree in it. In 1998, while I was making a series of steel plant sculptures, it led me back to the memory of the Baobab tree, and at that moment, I knew that I had to create one. For many years, I have been drawing the Baobab tree, imagining the ways I would like to portray them. The Baobab tree aligns with my spiritual beliefs with humans having been placed on Earth to be stewards. The Baobab is considered “the tree of life,” and they are ancient with some being anywhere from 2,000- to 6,000-years old. The Baobab holds up to 120,000 litres of water (80% of the trunk) and is identified as a succulent. They grow in Africa, India, Yemen and Australia anywhere from 15-feet to 100-feet tall. The African elephants eat the bark of the tree in the dry season. The leaves and fruits of the Baobab tree are used for medicinal purposes and as a food source for people. The Baobab tree symbolizes all life for me, and all life needs to be represented and incorporated into each tree. Animals naturally live in and around trees for many reasons. You see the tree from the outside, and yet there is so much life within the tree. By creating the Baobab trees as art incorporating nature, it brings art to life, which in turn creates an appreciation for and a bridge to the natural world and wildlife environments. These sculptures raise awareness and appreciation for the environment and the communities within and surrounding the trees. For the world to survive, trees are essential.
At a time when the environment is in danger, I bring the Baobab tree to the public’s attention. I am creating awareness and interest in the specific information about the Baobab tree and its ecosystem. This is one way that my work responds to the world around me.
I see my art as a spiritual process for me, and I keep coming back to the theme of “sowing seeds” or “the tree of life.” I am given the gift to create, and there are living beings amongst us who were created perfectly. The plants I incorporate into my art are nature’s perfection. In Revelations (22: 1- 2), of the King James Bible, “And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.”
BAOBAB SERIES DEVELOPMENT AND HABITATS
As I delved into the exploration of the Baobab trees, I created a series of finished drawings in colored pencil, depicting these different tree forms in various configurations in diorama-like scenes. The drawings were tree portraits. I placed the trees with backgrounds of hills and forests of evergreens. As I was drawing the evergreens in the background, they began to morph into emerald crystals, which developed into groves. The crystal forms became gemstones representing the foundation wall of the New Jerusalem and the twelve Apostles. The trees began to grow the crystals. My drawings became a flow of consciousness, revisiting my fascination with Mont St. Michel, France, which became the Crystal Mount composition series, arranging the crystal forms and spires in the same way that Mont St. Michel appears with my Baobab trees in the foreground. The trees began representing each tribe of Israel with an assigned crystal chart; each gemstone associated with a particular tribe as depicted on the breastplate of Aaron. This led to my drawings of the Throne of God series. They are all connected.
With my sculptural work, I am creating an otherworldly environment.
My work is seeking to answer three questions. Is my work science related because I create tree environments? Are my exhibits here on planet Earth or interdimensional? Or do they represent life on Earth in 20 million years into the future?
BAOBAB HABITAT IN PROCESS
Describe your work by saying what you see.
This is an outdoor installation of six tree forms that are placed in a clearing in the snow with larger pine trees in the background. These are wooden tree trunks of varying heights and thicknesses. One tree has a large bulb at the top. Two of the trees have bifurcated trunks. Three of the trunk forms are light in color, and the other three are a charred color. One is holding a glass globe. These are works in progress which I will continue finishing by adding branches made from steel to the three that are currently charred. With the other three, I will continue sanding, charring and pigmenting them. I will then add large wooden bulb forms to them, which will serve as planters with live plants growing from them.
Show the reader what is most important to you
To me, the most important aspect of this scene is that I am preparing these forms to be part of an environmental habitat; an indoor diorama-style installation. I took the photo of these sculptures, even though they are each still in progress, to show how they may be arranged.
Tell us about the details in the work that announce themselves as the subject
The details in the work show how each tree form is created. They all look weathered and dynamic in their free standing gestural position. The way that each work is positioned in the snow, invites the viewer to walk in and around each of the tree forms.
Is there a gap between what you see and what is? If so, describe it. (If not, say so.)
The gap in this work is that even though I see the tree forms in the snow, there is a lot more that still needs to be done.
Describe exactly what is depicted rather than what you were trying to create or what you hoped was there.
These are sculptural forms carved from logs and tree branches. Three of the sculptures are char- finished and the other three are left natural, in the rough. Each of the pieces are set up in a clearing that I shoveled from the snow and arranged together in an ellipse that invites the viewer to walk around them.
Describe your work by saying what you see.
In this work, I see a tree form with green crystals growing out of the top with a red spire laser beam coming up from the center. In the background, I see a forest made of crystals that look like evergreen trees.
Show the reader what is most important to you
The most important part of this drawing to me is that I am showing a visual plan for one of the twelve tree forms I will make for an installation. Each of the twelve tree forms will have a red spire laser beam coming out of the top. In addition, each tree form and its background will be made from a different colored crystal arrangement. For instance, each crystal will be representing a different gemstone; blue will represent sapphire, purple will represent amethyst, and marbled red and black will represent jasper. There will be twelve gemstones represented in the installation.
Tell us about the details in the work that announce themselves as the subject
The details, in the gnarled and twisted tree, form the main focal point of the drawing with the chrysoprase crystal field in the background.
Is there a gap between what you see and what is? If so, describe it. (If not, say so.
The gap I see here is the fact that this drawing is a depiction of what I have yet to make in 3D form.
Describe exactly what is depicted rather than what you were trying to create or what you hoped was there.
This drawing is made with colored pencil and pen. It depicts a gnarled and twisted tree trunk with crystals growing out of the top and a skinny, red spire coming out of the grove of crystals.
Describe your work by saying what you see.
In this image, I see a steel dish with crystal forms made from glass coming out of the sand. The crystal forms reflect the light around them and one of them shows an orange reflection. In the middle of the crystal arrangement is one that has a twist in it.
Show the reader what is most important to you
What is most important to me in this image is that these crystals are a maquette arrangement for how they will eventually appear coming out of the tree trunks I have yet to make. I plan to install colored LED lights underneath the glass forms that will shine through them and make them appear as though they are different kinds of crystals.
Tell us about the details in the work that announce themselves as the subject.
The details in the work that announce themselves as the subject include the smooth outside surface of the glass forms and the bubbles that are inside each of them.
Is there a gap between what you see and what is? If so, describe it. (If not, say so.)
The gap in this work is that the glass forms have yet to be arranged in the top part of the tree trunk with colored lights that will shine through them.
Describe exactly what is depicted rather than what you were trying to create or what you hoped was there.
This is an arrangement of glass forms meant to look like crystals.
• Bonus question to fuel your art making:
Do either of these writings give you new ideas about how you might revisit and rework the work?
These writings have not yet given me new ideas about how I might revisit and rework the work. I believe because these are not yet finished works, and they represent parts of a future installation, I have latitude to develop my ideas. Nothing is set in stone at this point. I am working on the technical issues to bring my work to fruition. I like to keep my possibilities open for discoveries yet to come. I feel as though the art is in the process and not necessarily in the final product. While my art is developing, I am also growing as an artist.
I am not revisiting or reworking the work because I am in the process of learning new skills of glassblowing, and working with plexiglass. These new skills will be incorporated into creating new structures for the installation.
Is there a space between your intention and your creation?
There is definitely a space between my intention and my creation because the works I have shared here are in process. The drawing is a plan for my vision, the crystals form a part of the tree forms, and the tree forms are only tree trunks at the moment. I am assembling all the musicians to play their instruments to form the symphony. Bringing all of the parts of my work together to form the final installation is my magnum opus.
If so, is that space more clear now?
Yes, seeing it all written out helps me understand where I am in the process and how much is still needed
BAOBAB HABITAT LIGHTING
I am intrigued by the experience of Divine light. My connection to this light starts with those twelve verses in the first chapter of the Gospel of John. My belief that God is Light, and that light shines through all of the stars and nebulae in the universe, and each star lights up and warms each planet within their own solar systems. I hope to utilize this sense of Divine light into my final installation,
I will create this sense of Divine light in my installation by using artificial light from multi-colored LED lights and lasers refracting from within plexiglass crystal forms I built and hand-blown glass crystals I made. I envision the plexiglass crystal forms, which will be anywhere from two-feet to six-feet tall spires of various widths and dimensions, arranged on the floor of the gallery with artificial light shining from within these forms. The hand blown crystals will appear as though they are growing out of the trees I am building. The crystal forms that I am developing would be a source of light seeming as though it is coming from its own universe within each crystal. The light source from within the crystals could appear bioluminescent or mysteriously ethereal. For me, using different colors and spectrums make my work visible and allows me to play with the light as a medium. Artificial light will also reflect onto the walls and possibly a body of water. I particularly enjoy seeing light play on the surface of water. In totality, this installation will be a world unto itself.
I would desire viewers of my installation to experience and be affected by the light, however they receive it. Does the divine light transcend into the atmosphere? Or is the Supreme Being present with all of creation? These are questions that are food for thought as I develop these concepts involved in my art work.
BAOBAB HABITAT QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
(1)Are you creating a fantastical, enchanted castle of crystals in your installation?
(2) Do the crystal forms appear as life forms in themselves?
(3) Are your tree forms anthropomorphic?
(4) Is your habitat some form of an ecosystem?
(5) In this installation, are you channeling up a certain energy force, or is this a religious statement?
(1)Are you creating a fantastical, enchanted castle of crystals in your installation?
You can say that I am creating a fantastical crystal isle. One of my major inspirations is Le Mont-Saint-Michel in France. For many years, I have been fascinated by this island out in the middle of a tidal flat. This castle/church with a steeple on the very top of the mount is very magical, and it reminds me of something out of a fairy tale. I have been drawing a lot of pictures with evergreen trees in the foreground and in the background that evolved into these crystal forms. One day, I decided to draw a version of Mont-Saint-Michel with a grove of crystals on top, arranged like the buildings and spires that would represent a castle or cathedral with steeples. Through these drawings, I made a major discovery: I could make a fantastical habitat indoors with multi-colored lighting and perhaps a base that would have sand and water to represent a tidal flat, which would really add to the scenery.
(2) Do the crystal forms appear as life forms in themselves?
I have made crystal-like forms from glass and plexiglass that appear to be alive and constantly growing and morphing into different shapes and forms. Within each glass crystal, one can see an infinite amount of air bubbles, which could be seen as entire galaxies of stars, especially when light passes through them. Each glass crystal could represent a universe of its own. The textured plexiglass crystal forms will also be lit up in unison with the glass crystals. When the light from each separate glass/plexiglass crystal or universe unites with all of the other lighted glass crystals, at the same time, it will feel as though it is eternity, outside of time and space.
(5) In this installation, are you channeling up a certain energy force, or is this a religious statement?
In creating my habitat inspired by Le Mont-Saint-Michel, I did not consciously channel a spiritual message. However, when an assistant of mine saw my drawing, she immediately saw it as the unalome, symbol of enlightenment. It is clear to me when I am in my creative state, I am entering into a spiritual realm subconsciously. I am creating a habitat called Crystal Mount which could represent the capital of the heavenly kingdom on Earth. From the top of the mount, a laser beam of light shoots up into space as a beacon to communicate with other worlds and to serve as a guide that leads the inhabitants of other nations to find Crystal Mount.
Questions from my classmates:
One of the attributes of your drawings that I really appreciate is the twistedness of the trees. In your sculptures shown, that twisting disappears. Is there a specific reason for this?
I made the tree form sculptures before the drawings. When I began drawing the trees, it resulted in the twisted tree trunks. I became inspired as I was drawing the trees. Going forward, I will carve the spirals and twists into the sculpture forms. One of the tree trunks I made does have a twist along the entire length of the trunk.
Also, you mention Mont St. Michel as inspiration. What is it about it that inspires you? Why Mont St. Michel?
I am drawn to Le-Mont-Saint-Michel because of the way this fantastical and enchanted island seems to be growing out of the sandy tidal flat at low tide. Somehow, I was very drawn to this particular island, and I later discovered with assistance that it resembles the symbol of spiritual enlightenment, the unalome. I have my own deep spiritual beliefs, which guide me in my artwork.
Much of your work also features the subject either literally or figuratively reaching up towards the sky. What is it about this action that motivates you to work with it?
Trees by nature reach up to the sky to absorb more sunlight and my depictions of my red laser beams shooting up into the sky and space, serve as beacons to communicate with other worlds, and to guide peoples of other nations to find the trees of life and Crystal Mount.
Have you read about the cultural significance of the Baobab tree in West African cultures (and some of its uses)?
I have done a lot of reading and research on the Baobab tree as I was going through the creative process of making the tree forms. In West African culture, the Baobab is definitely seen as the tree of life. The Baobab leaves are medicinal, and the fruits are nutritious and medicinal as well. As a succulent, the tree absorbs a lot of water and is well adapted to hot, dry climates. The Baobab tree is made up of 70% water. Baobabs can be as old as 6,000 years old. They can be found in other disparate countries such as India, Australia, and Yemen. The Baobab tree is a communal center for the survival of humans and animals; every living being finds value in this very special tree.
First the tree is a recurring theme in your work and, as you’ve noted, has been for many years. As you noted above, for you, the baobab harkens to the Tree of Life concept. What is it about that concept that you find so intriguing?
The Baobab as the tree of life is so intriguing because:
(1) Baobabs can be as old as 6,000 years old. There is something very special about a tree being able to live for so long.
(2) Its fruit and leaves are both nutritional and medicinal.
(3) As a succulent, the Baobab is made up of 70% water, providing an entire village with a source of potable water.
(4) The bark of the trees provide food for the elephants.
(5) The trunk can be carved out to create a shelter.
(6) When I see the Baobab tree, it looks like a bottle growing out of the ground with a tuft of branches at its top.
(7) The Baobab tree has an ecosystem of its own providing shelter for a community of wild animals
There is something of great spiritual significance for me about the tree of life. In the Bible, there is mention of the tree of life in the Garden of Eden, but Adam and Eve were forbidden to eat from it. The tree of life is sacred, and it was written in the Bible that if humans were to eat from it, then they would become immortal. It is also written in the Bible, there would be trees of life in New Jerusalem on either side of the “River of Life, which proceeds from the throne of God and of the Lamb, and the leaves of the trees would provide healing of the nations.”
I found the tree captivating when I was introduced to the Baobab as a child in a book about trees. I did not know at that time it was considered the tree of life. As an adult artist, when I realized the Baobab was the tree of life, I knew that I wanted to create it as a sculpture.
In the last review, people mentioned how it was nice to see your sculptures in relation to the natural backdrop. I myself, really like how your drawings are evolving and I like that in your childhood installation, you used the poster as a backdrop. Are you planning on merging 2D and 3D in your thesis work, and how are you planning to separate or blend the sculptures and painting?
My drawings are a way to express my vision and to develop that vision. As I am drawing, I am creating the background and the tree form arrangements, which gives me the opportunity to see it on paper first before creating the three-dimensional work. These are my studies of my exhibition. As for your question about merging 2D with my sculpture forms; I plan to create a habitat with my 3D work in the foreground and a mural in the background, reminiscent of the dioramas seen in the Museum of Natural History in New York City and other museums of natural history. Both the Museum of Natural History and my childhood habitat creation are inspirations for my thesis habitat.
I love your narrative about your childhood inspirations. Are there other inspiring moments or visual elements from childhood that influence your work?
I have not mentioned the times when my parents took me to the Bronx Zoo and the New York Aquarium in New York City. At both the zoo and the aquarium, there were natural habitats for the birds, reptiles, fish, beluga whales and the nocturnal animals. Instead of them being in cages, they were in what I would call “live dioramas.” From that memory, I find myself inspired to incorporate live flora and possible fauna into my habitat.
Do you think deeply about integrating your works with nature, showing visually and making them have natural alike life? Breath and share fate with the surrounding nature? spiritually?
You are right about the idea of integrating my works with nature. Having a small aquarium or terrarium integrated into my tree form along with a plant growing out of the top of the trunk actually brings my work to life.
ARTIST STATEMENT
Art is meaningful to me because I am able to express my feelings, visions and bring them to life. I see art as my freedom to be myself. Art is also a way of reminiscing about my roots in childhood memories and experiences. I’m bringing the past to the present. Art empowers me.
When I was in high school, a childhood friend of mine was killed in a bicycle accident. All of her poems were displayed at her memorial service. I thought the poems were profound and beautiful. Years later, as a senior in high school, I was creating wood carvings. While making them, I was reminiscing with my father about the poems that my childhood friend had written before she was killed. I remember saying to my father that I would never be able to write poetry like she did. He turned to me and said that the images that I carve in wood are poetry in themselves. I think that my art work now is a visual poem.
Growing up experiencing art and the Art World in New York City, I find it very difficult to convey in words why I connected to the artwork I was experiencing. The artists I was exposed to like Max Gimblett, Harvey Quaytman, Will Insley, James Rosenquist, my father, Charles Hinman; their work resonates with me in an especially unique way. It conveys esthetics to me that cannot be duplicated by anyone else or anywhere else or at any other time. People were not explaining their art to me, and they did not direct me to feel any particular way about it. It was happening all around me, and I was able to have my own connection to it without outside influences. There is a disconnect between the emotional and the intellectual self. There are some things that may be part of our soul’s understanding in a spiritual, infinite way, of which we are not conscious.
In my studio practice, I do a lot of drawing and paintings to work out designs for my sculptures. I also make maquettes in cardboard and other materials to work out any kinks or problems that might arise in their construction. When planning an installation, I will make a 1” to 12” scale model of the exhibition space to rehearse how everything is going to look. Most recently, I made a scale model of the gallery space at MassArt where my thesis exhibition will be held.
MY ART INSPIRATIONS
In my studio and on my nightstand next to my bed, I have a collection of plastic monster figures that are from Japanese movies made in Japan. These figures include Godzilla, Gamera and Angurius, which are called “kaiju” in Japanese, meaning strange beast. These kaiju have been an influence on my work since I was six- years old. I would draw them and create the figures from clay, and then again as a college student, I incorporated the kaiju forms in some of my steel sculptures. Back in the summer of 1997, I acquired some of the godzilla videos, and one in particular was “Godzilla vs Biollante.” Biollante is a hybrid of Godzilla, a rose plant and the little shop of horrors plant with many vines with heads growing out of her, and she is twice the size of Godzilla. Biollante inspired me to create a hybrid of a saguaro cactus and the hydra, with eight of the heads at the end of eight roots, and the ninth head growing out of the top of the cactus form is immortal. My Hydra sculpture is a visual artistic language depicting the second labor of Hercules. Hercules with the help of his nephew, Iolaus, cut all of the hydra’s heads off, and the immortal head was buried under a huge boulder so it would not hurt anyone again. My kaiju collection is very nostalgic for me. It takes me back to my childhood, when I would watch all of the Godzilla movies on television, then act out the scenes from those movies with my childhood friend, Sam Rogers. There were times when Godzilla was the good guy and saved the world from an evil kaiju. Other times, Godzilla was the bad guy and Mothra, the giant moth defeated him. Later in life, I learned that Godzilla was a mutant created by nuclear testing in the South Pacific islands. The story is an allegory of the consequences of using nuclear weapons. Looking at all of the kaiju and all of the different species of monsters, I find their tremendous size and origin stories fascinating. When I was in Japan as a three-year old, my parents gave me a set of finger puppets of Ultraman and the monsters he battles. As a child, these Japanese characters brought out my curiosity, and I was fascinated by how realistic they were. Looking at my monster collection, I would want to gain a better understanding of human and/or animal anatomy in order to go forward with developing ideas arising from these creatures.
In my basement, I have a collection of HO and N-scale electric trains and a track set-up on a table. Observing my model trains in action moving along the railroad tracks in an oval loop, I envisioned the scenery and landscape in a diorama. The entire project has to be conceptualized according to how I imagine it to be. There are so many details to be considered, such as, the scale and size of the layout, the landscape, the buildings, and lights. All of these factors create my esthetic, and they are conveyed in the finished train layout. It all becomes part of my artistic process. I recall as a child, how the freight trains passed through Urbana, Ohio at night by my grandparents’ home and hearing the horn from the locomotive as I was sleeping in the bed. I distinctly remember the sound of the trains revving and the clicking and clacking of the wheels on the tracks. Living in NYC, I would ride the subways, and I was really interested in the amount of train cars linked together. I just realized my affinity for the long train cars could relate to my affinity for snakes. The long trail of the train cars move like snakes, and I enjoy this type of serpentine movement. I find it fascinating how some of the modern trains are able to travel at speeds of 300-mph or more floating just above the track.
In addition, I have Hot Wheels and Matchbox cars. My interest in the cars began when I was four-years old. I find them very nostalgic, re-living my childhood memories. I loved the Hot Wheels because of their metallic color, the wheels were springy and they moved really fast. As an artist, I am inspired by the many styles of cars and their colors. There are so many car designs from many time periods from automobile history. Some of the designs were conceptual, not necessarily actual car designs. I believe I am very focused on the colors of the vehicles; they come in sets and are made for collecting.
My collection of plastic reptiles and other animals are scattered throughout my house and are driving my wife nuts; they are dust magnets and are not conducive to a minimalist esthetic in interior decor. I have had a lifelong fascination with dinosaurs, reptiles, amphibians and insects. I love their small figurine sizes, and their ability for me to have them in my pocket to carry with me wherever I go. I am fascinated with the long tails of snakes, lizards, salamanders, dragons, alligators and crocodiles. I have used these plastic animals and reptiles as part of models and dioramas of habitats like the larger scale dioramas with the taxidermied animals seen in Museums of Natural History. Sometimes, I use my toy plastic gorillas to create images of King Kong on my train layouts rampaging through the town fighting Godzilla or a Tyrannosaurus rex, as seen in the movies. Creating an installation relates to these dioramas.
I fish whenever I can, and I have my rods, reel and tackle in many locations in my home, my car and my work van. I am never without my fishing rods. They are with me beside my bed, in my kitchen, in my living room and dining room. I began fishing as a three-year old, and it has stuck with me ever since. Once when I was the resident blacksmith at Historic Northampton, the Director was walking to his vehicle next to the barn where I worked. It was winter and there was significant snow cover on the ground. The Director thought he had seen a snake slithering in the snow, so he moved closer to investigate. What he discovered was me throwing my fishing line out and reeling it back in. He roared with laughter at his mistake. I find it very meditative throwing my line out and reeling it back in, which I often do when I need a break from my work blacksmithing or sculpting. When I look into a fish’s eyes, my eyes twinkle and sparkle, according to my wife. With my fishing rods, I create many of the line guides from stainless steel, I refurbish reels, and I wrap the rods with thread in many different designs. I use an epoxy finish to set and secure the wrap design and guides. Designing and building rods goes back into my childhood. I remember using whatever wire that I could get my hands on to make my own line guides and taping them on to a stick of bamboo or wood. As a child, when I was not able to buy a rod or reel, I improvised and made up my own. As an adult, I use the same process but in a more professional way. I have also used found-golf clubs to create the bottom part of a fishing rod. There is a creative process in refurbishing fishing rods, and at times, recreating or reimagining a fishing rod in my own style or vision. I have spent many hours using a hand-crank drill twisting silk or artificial sinew thread across the length of my home. I would love to make a bamboo fishing rod, a reel from scratch and trout flies. These are all creative outlets for me.
THE EXPERIENCE OF BLACKSMITHING
While I am forging metal, I experience four of my five senses simultaneously. You could say that forging is an almost complete sensory experience. I smell the coal burning, the sound of the whirring of the blower, while I hear the hammer hitting the metal while I work. Many times, the hammer blows sound like I am ringing a bell summoning people to me. I also see the glowing color of the hot iron. Knowing that I am actually holding a bar of fire in my tongs, I sometimes demonstrated that to visitors by rubbing it on a piece of wood causing the surface of the wood to burst into flames. Then, I explained to the public that the glowing bar of iron is actually a bar of fire. As I am hammering the iron bar into shape, the hot metal moves like clay when I form it. Taking iron, steel or any other kind of metal and molding it by hammering, bending and twisting gives me the sensation that there is no limit to what I can create; I can have any tool, blade or work of art that I want. Being able to shape an obstinate, hard medium empowers me, knowing that I have met a formidable challenger, and I am able to master it. What I create will last for generations, and it could become a historical artifact in a collection. There is something very primal working in a dark environment with fire and metal. Through the Ages, the forging equipment developed, but the process of creating has not changed, and I experience the same process that has been around for millennia.
Describe the intellectual and emotional worlds/as so working in metal. citations/ideas that are specific to
Steel and iron are materials that are hard when cold, but when heat is applied, they become very soft for a short period of time ranging from ten to forty seconds. If steel is left too long in the fire, the grain structure is ruined and it crumbles apart, making it unusable. Steel and iron are not forgiving materials, whereby there is no room for error. Once they are formed, there is no leeway for change. Hardened steel is not malleable. It can be said that steel is strong and durable, lasting forever. I aspire to be as emotionally strong as the steel I work.
When I am hardening steel, I heat it up until it is red hot, and I quench it in hot oil or cold water. Because of the drastic change in temperature, the steel becomes brittle like glass. Then, I temper the steel by heating it up to a lesser temperature, in which the steel turns anywhere from a straw color to a purple-blue color. I quench it to prevent further heating, or I allow the steel to cool gradually depending on how much heat was applied. Tempering toughens the steel so it does not break or lose its shape. I sometimes discuss being in a good relationship is like tempering steel, whereby the relationship becomes more resilient and stronger by two people having complementary skills and personalities. With cooperation, a couple becomes stronger and more resilient as a unit.
What is the character or value of the metal that you use to make art?
Steel is relatively inexpensive, and it can be salvaged for those who know how to forge, weld, sand, grind, and finish steel. The value of the steel is derived by the labor of love by the artist, and the resulting permanence of the work. It is a substantial, impressive, rugged material with a formidable presence.
Is there a meaning for you associated with metal?
When I forge steel, I convey a delicateness, refinement and durability with my forged artwork. In many ways, I am inextricably associated with my materials like Zarina.
Does metal have a history worthy of note?
Steel is iron with carbon added to it, and it was not common until the time of the Romans. Steel was being produced as early as 1000 BC by Persian blacksmiths. The access and ability to produce steel was very important to nations who wanted to maintain their power through the production of tools and weapons. There were improved versions of steel, around 300 BC, known as Wootz steel, which was produced in India, and it created a superior steel for weapons because of its molecular structure. At around 500 AD, Damascus steel was another type of steel produced in a crucible composed of a higher carbon content. The process removed slag resulting in a higher quality steel.
How do you investigate and work with metal?
There is a lot of trial and error, as well as, documented research available about steel. I studied with a Master Bladesmith learning the proper methods and processes in making my own tools and blades from pattern-welded steel. There is a basic knowledge of metallurgy involved in developing the skills working with steel.
How do you experience the stimuli of metal?
I experience the hammering of steel to be a sense of power and control over the medium. It is a bar of putty in my hands with the hammer beating it into shape. With a wrench, I twist the steel, and with tongs, I bend the steel into the shapes I choose. As I hammer, I am changing the grain structure of the steel into a more refined state. With forging, I develop a rhythm of heating the steel, and being patient, waiting for the steel to reach its optimal temperature. I have a very short window of time to form the steel, before I have to start the process all over again and again and again. The repetition becomes meditative.
TIMELINE AND HISTORY OF BLACKSMITHING DEMONSTRATIONS
I am driven in my blacksmithing work by relating to the public. I demonstrate the history and art of blacksmithing from the 5th century to the present day at the Mutton and Mead Renaissance Faire, the Glasgowlands Highland Festival, the Massachusetts Renaissance Faire and Storrowton Village. I recreate period blacksmithing equipment for these festivals such as forges, bellows, anvils and blacksmithing tools that very few Americans have been exposed to in the United States. By doing this, I create an educational program that allows the public to try their hand at forging and that forms the basis for a book, I will eventually publish for lay people as part of my anticipated Ph.D thesis project. I also demonstrate metalsmithing techniques at these venues and instruct anyone of any age to forge cold aluminum or copper wire into a bracelet or ring. Making the timeline and history of blacksmithing accessible to everyone is important to me.
How does this gap/tension manifest in the work itself?
I purposely design my blacksmithing projects so that any person is able to complete a bracelet, a ring, a hairpin, a brooch, a fishing hook, an arrowhead, or a torque (a Celtic necklace) in a short period of time. It is important for people to have a choice of projects from which they can choose. Some projects are more advanced for those visitors who have some experience metalsmithing, or they would like to spend more time on their project.
With my blacksmithing demonstrations, I am helping people step back in time to experience history come to life.
“I’m, again, delighted to read your response to the questions before you. I’m impressed by the way you’ve moved from creating sculptures of significance to a world of your own creation. You’ve moved from trees to crystals and light. From drawings to invented habitats. Your range is tremendous. “ (From Jane Buchbinder)
The question that returns to me when I read about your work (and try to imagine it in my own mind) is what compels you to create this new world?
I have always had a vivid imagination. My imagination was influenced by childhood dreams and apparitions. The apparitions appeared to me in the dark of night, and when I buried my face in my pillow, other worlds where the apparitions lived, appeared to me. From childhood onward, I would visually record my dreams and images through drawing, painting, and sculpting in steel, wood and clay. I had to rely on my imagination during my early school years to endure the torment of being bullied, ridiculed and marginalized by my classmates. I was my own best company. I did not feel as though I was of them, which made me think that I was from somewhere else. As a consequence, I felt that I was not made for this time or world. My deep interest in sci-fi and fantasy helped me create my own world and reality. It has taken me many years to accept myself and to feel as though I could share my experience with others, and to trust that they would understand how I felt and how I feel. I have shared the stories my sculptures were based upon, but now I see them as entire experiences. This is an entirely new development and direction in my art.
What exists there for you that is not already here?
In the other world such as New Jerusalem, there is a place with no more sickness, death, decay, crying or evil. Instead, people would be in-tuned with the Lord, and there would be fellowship and siblinghood amongst the people and a reunion of generations. When I create, it is often to manifest a universe that I understand – one that is in harmony with my own internal world. There would be trees laden with fruit, and leaves that would be medicinal for the nations to share. The river would be pure like crystal and flowing from the throne of God through the city and out into the New World.
If this resonates with you, what do the worlds you create bring into existence?
These worlds bring inspiration, hope for a better time and the triumph of good over evil.
Do they feel like a kind of home to your spirit?
It would be a home for my spirit, as well as, for countless others. It feels like a place where I belong. To actually yearn to bring this to reality takes an act of faith alone. This place may not be a home yet, but it will be in time.
Are they a utopia of sorts? Or is the process of creating the experience itself a kind of travel to another dimension? Is that more important than the product itself?
New Jerusalem can be easily called a utopia, and it would be in another dimension and time. When I talk about the fellowship of all people with the Lord and with each other, the river of life flowing out of the throne of God through the City of New Jerusalem out into the New World, the trees of life on each side of the river with fruits for nourishment and the leaves with medicinal properties that provide healing for all nations; this would be a utopia – a perfect world in eternity.
MY ARTIST PHILOSOPHY
The themes of “Sowing the Seeds” and the “Trees of Life” are founded in my spiritual beliefs. At the age of fourteen, I came to a spiritual awakening, which is the current foundation of my faith. In my reading of the Bible, there is the recurring idea of the Tree of Life in the Garden of Eden, and the trees lining the banks of the River of Life, which flows out of the Throne of God. When describing sowing seeds and trees of life, it brings forth the belief of hope for the future, abundance, a harvest promised, and sustenance for everyone. A harvest invites all of humanity to come together for nourishment and healing. With my art, I call one and all to experience creation through the natural world.
My materials of choice are steel, copper, brass, natural logs and branches, and glass. When I forge steel, copper and brass, I use ancient techniques and materials that date back to the Stone Age. When you see the final product of my labors, you are able to see the hammer marks and you will know my hands have touched the materials. My hammer marks identify me like my fingerprints. The tools I utilize to create are made by my own hands. I enjoy connecting with the past through my process of creating. My work reflects a distinct style of forging, at a level of refinement, beyond the capability of the rudimentary equipment and tools I employ. The texture of my work is smooth, rough and organic at the same time, and the lines are fluid. I like my work to look like it dates back to another time in history, when artisans cared for their work and there was a higher level of attention to detail. I place a piece of my heart and soul into each work I create.
What is most identifiable in my work is the subject matter. My influences stem from my early childhood experiences of seeing apparitions, visiting museums, zoos and aquariums, and reading books on topics of trees and the animal kingdom. I created my first installation at the age of nine based upon a plant environment an artist neighbor arranged. My passion for incorporating live plants and animals into my sculptures transforms my work into a habitat. These habitats become ecosystems of their own, and they transport the viewer to another world.
EDITED BY JANE
The themes of “Sowing the Seeds” and “Trees of Life” are at the center of both my spiritual beliefs and my art. At the age of fourteen, I had a spiritual awakening, which is the current foundation of my faith, in which the Tree of Life in the Garden of Eden, and the trees lining the banks of the River of Life, flow out of the Throne of God. These images of life bring forth my hope for the future, abundance, a harvest promised, and sustenance for everyone. A harvest invites all of humanity to come together for nourishment and healing. With my art, I call one and all to experience creation through the natural world.
My work also stems from early childhood experiences of reading books about trees and the animal kingdom, visiting zoos, aquariums, and museums, and visions of apparitions. I created my first art installation at the age of nine, based upon a plant environment by an artist-neighbor. My continuing passion for incorporating live plants and animals into my forged metal sculptures transforms my work into otherworldly habitats. These habitats form ecosystems of their own.
The ancient techniques and materials I use date back to the Stone Age. My habitats are often forged out of steel, copper and brass, as well as glass, wooden logs and tree branches. Distinctive hammer marks identify my craftsmanship, because I also create my own tools. My hammer marks identify me like fingerprints.
The texture of my work is smooth, rough and organic at the same time, and the lines are fluid. I like my work to look like it dates back to another time in history, when artisans showed their dedication to their work through a high level of detail. My heart and soul connect with the past as they bring each new piece to life.